Grand Opening

by Carl Weber

  “Yeah, well, the resident genius is not going to like it, but he’s going to have get his hands dirty while you drive me to the bus station,” Lou said.

  Lou and Larry went inside to talk, while NeeNee and I set up a table out front and started getting the chicken and Pepsi ready for sale. A few minutes later, LC stepped out the front door alone. He smiled at me before he turned to NeeNee, and I felt myself blushing.

  “Hey Nee, you think you and Harold can handle the shop while I take a ride out to the country? I gotta take care of something for Lou.”

  “I got this, LC. You go on and handle your business.”

  “What about you, Ms. Charlotte? You wanna take a ride?” He gestured toward the tow truck.

  “Look, I appreciate everything you did last night, but maybe I should just go back to Sam’s. I’m not trying to get in the way of your business or anything.” As much as I liked LC, I did not want to be a bother. It was one thing to bring me out of the rain, and another to have to put up with me the next day.

  “We’re friends, right?” he said.

  “Yeah, of course we’re friends. I just don’t want to be a burden.”

  “Then stop all this foolishness and take a ride with me. Ain’t nobody around here letting you go back to Big Sam’s. Tell her, Nee.”

  NeeNee didn’t say a word. She just pointed to the truck, and I started to walk.

  Larry

  21

  Lou and I stood in the convenience store part of the gas station, staring out the window at LC and that whore Chippy as they got into the tow truck. I sure hoped LC knew what he was doing, because having that wench around could be more trouble than it was worth.

  “What’s the deal with them?” Lou asked.

  I watched them pull away then shrugged. “I don’t know. From what I hear Sam beat her ass pretty damn good last night and LC turned into Captain Save-a-Ho, rescuing her like she was some damsel in distress. Bitch spent the night in his room last night. Nee seems to think she’s sweet on him.”

  “She can’t be too sweet on him, ’cause when I got home LC was ’sleep on the sofa while old girl slept in his bed. Shit, if that was me, I woulda been in there tearing her fine ass up.” Lou looked like he was about to slobber all over himself. When it came to pussy, he was worse than Levi. That shit just fucked his head right up, ’cause he had no self-control whatsoever.

  “Thank God not everyone thinks like you, Lou. What I’m more worried about is if this whore’s gonna cause us any blowback from Sam. You know we still gotta sit down with him this week.”

  Lou swiveled his neck in my direction, shaking his head. “Now you’re worried about Sam. A few weeks ago you were ready to go to war with the man.”

  “That was different.”

  “Excuse me, Mr. Duncan?” We turned to see one of the white men who had been talking to LC. He approached us.

  “Yes, how can we help you?” Lou put on his best white-boy voice.

  “Your brother said I was to give this to you if he wasn’t here.” He handed Lou a check.

  “What’s this?”

  He patted Lou on the back. “It’s an incentive check for carrying Pepsi products in your store, and at your event on the fourth.”

  “Event?” Lou looked kind of confused until I elbowed him in ribs.

  “Yeah, you know, First Friday, LC’s grand opening.”

  “Oh yeah.” Lou shook the man’s hand. I shook his hand also, and we headed for the door.

  The second we stepped outside, Lou handed me the check and said, “How much did we pay for this joint?”

  “Ten grand. Why?” I looked down at the check and did a double take when I saw the amount was $5000.

  “Because our little brother figured out a way to pay half the place off, and he didn’t have to bust one head.”

  “You know, Lou, Ma always said this family would rise and fall on LC’s shoulders. I know you’re the oldest, but I think maybe we should start listening to him a little more.” I opened the door to the little sports car I was driving.

  “Larry, that’s exactly why I’m going outta town, remember?” Lou replied, opening the passenger door then giving the car a once over. “Whose car is this?”

  “Oh, this? This used to be Quincy’s car, but it’s ours now.” I laughed. “Corvette Roadster Convertible. The body’s a little rough and the transmission’s just about shot, but I’m sure we can get three grand out of her, maybe a little more. You should have seen LC when he saw it. I thought the little bastard was going to bust a nut he got so excited.” We both got a kick out of that as we got into the car.

  Lou said, “Let LC work on it, and when she’s purring like a kitten, bring her over to Ralph’s and let him paint it. I saw one of these in New York, and the cat said he paid over ten grand for it.”

  “Damn, it’s a good thing I showed Quincy what was in those two barrels or he wouldn’t have given up shit.”

  Lou’s head snapped in my direction and his face became hard. “What two barrels?”

  “You know the barrels with those two hillbillies from Valdosta. The ones we got soaking in vinegar.”

  Lou’s eyes flashed with anger. “You idiot! What the fuck is wrong with you? You trying to get us all locked up? I thought I told you to give those barrels to Levi so he could get rid of them.”

  “I’m going to, but you also said you didn’t want me to kill Quincy, so I needed something to make him think I would, which he does now. Why else do you think we have the title to his car? Shit, I shot half his foot off and the bastard still wouldn’t give up our money.”

  He took a deep breath to calm himself down. Placing a hand on my shoulder, he said, “Larry, man, that’s just not smart and you know it. You can’t be putting the whole family at risk like that, ’cause all we got is us. What would Momma say?”

  I sighed, giving in, “Yeah, you’re right. It was fucking stupid. Look, I’m sorry. And don’t worry; I’m gonna take care of it as soon as I drop you off. You got my word.”

  Lou stuck his hand out and I slapped it. “Little brother, that’s good enough for me.”

  Chippy

  22

  “So, did you get a good night’s rest?” LC asked when the song we were listening to ended and a commercial for a personal injury lawyer started playing. We’d been driving for about ten minutes before he even spoke, but it wasn’t one of those awkwardly silent rides. It almost felt like we were on a date, the way he had his arm over my side of the seat as we rocked to the music on the radio.

  “Best I had in a long time. That was your room I slept in, wasn’t it?”

  “Yeah, that was my room,” he said. “What gave it away?”

  “The books. All those wonderful books. There had to be a thousand of them.”

  “Eight hundred fifty-six, to be exact.” He looked at me and chuckled. “Only you would bypass all the football, basketball, and baseball trophies and see my books.”

  “What can I say? I love books. Have you read all of them?”

  “Most of them. When I was coming up, my pops used to make us work on the farm, but he’d pay us every Friday, and instead of buying candy, I’d go down to the store and buy me a book.” We had more in common than I thought.

  “What about this one? Have you read Pimp?” I pulled the book I’d taken from his room out of my bag.

  “Matter of fact, I have. Several times. Iceberg Slim is one of my favorite authors.”

  “I took it out of your room,” I admitted. “You think I’ll get anything out of it?”

  “That depends on if you’re really planning to go back to Sam.”

  I didn’t answer, and he stared at me like a disappointed father. “You can’t be serious. After what he did to your face?”

  “I don’t have anywhere else to go.” I could feel tears well up as I touched my eye subconsciously. I’d completely forgotten about my bruised eye and face.

  “Yeah, you do. You can stay with us.”

  “Let’s see w
hat your brothers have to say about that,” I replied, thankful that the commercials were gone and the DJ was playing music again.

  We drove a ways out to an area he called Okefenokee Swamp, where he turned up a dirt road and followed it to the sorriest looking shack I’d ever seen. The old house, if you could call it that, didn’t look like there was even any running water inside. A gaggle of messy kids all under the age of ten were running around playing without shoes. An old, rusted car sat on some bricks in the driveway. When they saw us, the kids started jumping up and down.

  “LC, LC, what did you bring us?” A cute little girl, about six years old, who looked like she’d been playing in the dirt, ran up to us when we got out of the car.

  “What do you mean?” he said, looking comically stern.

  “Please, please!” she begged as the others joined her, all screaming his name.

  He reached into his overalls and pulled out five suckers and handed one to each kid. You would have thought he gave them gold as they excitedly ripped off the wrappers and shoved them in their mouths.

  “You spoiling them kids.” A heavyset woman who I could tell appeared older than her age called out from the porch as we approached her.

  “Ms. Ruby, you know I didn’t do no such thing,” he answered in a friendly tone.

  “I’ma send them to live with you when their teeth rot out of their heads.” She laughed, throwing her arms around him. “Boy, it’s good to see you. I heard you was down the road visiting with Ms. Emma a few weeks ago.”

  He released the embrace and turned to me. “Ms Ruby, this is my friend Charlotte.”

  “Well, well, well, she’s real pretty, LC.” She pulled me in for a hug. Between her and NeeNee, it was fair to say that LC knew a lot of huggers.

  “Thank you, ma’am,” I answered feeling slightly embarrassed by the attention.

  “And she ain’t got her panties in a bunch like that other heifer you brought around here. You need to marry this one.”

  I shook my head, anxious to fix her presumption. “We’re just friends.”

  “Friends are good. My husband and I started as friends. That’s a smart way to go. Too many people base their relationships on sex nowadays.”

  “Ms. Ruby!” LC admonished her, clearly embarrassed by the conversation.

  She had a sparkle in her eyes as she continued. “Well, I’m telling the truth. This whole free love thing they got going in San Francisco is making these young people crazy. Martin and I been friends and gonna stay friends, and that makes our marriage better.” I blushed when I felt her eyes on me like she was giving me some private information.

  “You all right? Lou wanted me to bring you this.” LC reached into his back pocket and handed her an envelope. It brought a big smile to her face.

  “You boys are saints.” She threw her arms around him again then opened the envelope, which I could see contained cash. “Martin told me to say thank you for all your help. And he’ll pay you back on time.”

  “Martin’s a good guy. We just want to make sure you’re okay till he gets home. It was nice to see you, Ms. Ruby. I got to get back to the station,” he told her as he took out his keys.

  “Nice to meet you, ma’am,” I said as we made our way back to the truck.

  “Charlotte, you’re welcome anytime,” she yelled after me. The kids all gathered near their mom, sucking their lollipops and waving as we pulled away.

  “What was that?” I asked, not able to keep the bitterness out of my voice. I had an idea, but I wanted to hear it from him. If it was what I thought, I knew I wouldn’t be able to hold my tongue. Last thing I wanted to hear was that he took advantage of people like Ms. Ruby, with all those kids she had to take care of.

  “The Duncans have a business where we lend money to people who can’t seem to make it through the month,” he informed me.

  “You mean like a loan sharking business?” I snapped. It wasn’t like I was dumb or nothing.

  “Yes, and we loan money to gamblers and certain people for interest, but not Ms. Ruby—at least not more than she can afford. Lou wouldn’t take a dime from the mothers whose husbands are off at war, or even in jail, for that matter. That would be the lowest of the low.”

  LC’s explanation made me feel guilty for thinking the worst, but I guess after what had happened with Sam, I had lost faith that people could actually be good.

  “That’s nice. Real nice. You’re good with kids,” I said, thinking about how those kids’ faces lit up at the sight of him before he even gave them anything.

  He turned to me with a big smile on his face. “Yeah, I really like kids. I want a whole house full one day.”

  I nodded silently, and for the first time since I left Sam, I was beginning to feel sad for another reason: I would not be the one to give him those kids.

  Big Shirley

  23

  I had to stop and catch my breath because I’d been walking for almost thirty minutes in the hot Georgia sun. However, it was all worth it when I saw that Deuce and a Quarter about a hundred yards down the driveway outside the tin-roof farmhouse. It meant Lou was home. I hadn’t seen him in a few days, but he’d always said if I was in trouble or needed his help, he’d always be there. I guess now was when I found out if he was a man of his word or as full of shit as his friend Big Sam.

  I took a deep breath and headed toward the house. As I got closer, dogs started to appear out of nowhere, barking like some type of country alarm system. By the time I got to the house, there had to be about twenty of them, and most of them were growling and baring teeth as they closed in on me.

  “Hello! Anybody home?” I shouted, praying someone would call them off and come to my rescue. They were about two feet away from my ass now, and I was scared to death. I was tempted to run, but all my life people had been telling me not to run from dogs. I bet their asses had never been surrounded by a pack like this. “Help! Anybody, please, help! Help me!”

  “Shirley, what are you doing here?” A voice yelled from my left, scaring the shit out of me even more than the growling mutts. I turned and saw Lou’s brother Larry sitting at a redwood picnic table with about five or six guns in front of him. His other brother, Levi the simpleton, was walking toward a barn, carrying two big-ass barrels like they were soda cans. “You trying to get yourself killed or something?”

  While that fool was rambling, those dogs were steadily getting closer to me. “Um, Larry, you think you can call off the dogs?”

  “Levi!” Larry screamed. “Call these damn dogs.”

  Levi whistled one time, and the dogs seemed to disperse and disappear.

  It took me a moment to get myself together. I walked over to the picnic table, making sure my good side was facing him. “Hey, Larry, I came to see your brother Lou. Is he around?”

  He shook his head. “Lou ain’t here. He’s outta town.”

  Larry’s words were like a punch in the stomach and would probably end up being the reason I got my ass kicked that night. I’d dragged my sorry ass all the way out there for nothing, because ever since Chippy left Big Sam, he’d been on the rampage about his damn quotas. I had to give it to her; she really must have made him a lot of money, ’cause he was pissed to be missing those dollars. And with this fucked-up face, I just couldn’t get these niggas to fuck me like they used to.

  All of a sudden, the dogs sounded like they were attacking something around the back of the barn. The first thing that came to mind was that they must be attacking Levi. “What the hell’s going on? Is your brother all right?”

  Larry smirked. “Oh, nothing. Levi’s just feeding the dogs their favorite food. You know, it’s amazing how much they like pickled meat.” He started cackling like he’d just said something really funny.

  “So, you know when your brother’s going to be back?” I asked.

  “Ain’t no tellin’. You know Lou. He’s always gotta be the last one to leave the party. Last time he went outta town he stayed a month.”

  “Fuc
k!” I said out loud. Of all the times for him to go outta town. “Hey, Larry, you think I could borrow a few dollars until Lou gets back?” I could tell by his smirk that the answer was no, so I made a desperate move. “I’ll suck your dick.”

  I knew Larry hadn’t bought any pussy since he’d come back from Vietnam, but it was worth a try. Shit, when Sam and I first came to town, I used to fuck him and Lou all the time.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you, Shirley? You know damn well I don’t buy pussy. You lucky Nee’s not around, or you’d be eating one of these guns.”

  I threw my hands up defensively. “I’m sorry, Larry. I just need to make some money.”

  “Well, you ain’t gonna make it from me,” he replied as his mountain of a brother Levi walked up from behind the barn.

  “D–d–done, L–l–l–Larry. The d–d–dogs are fed.” He stared at his brother, waiting for approval.

  “Good job, Levi. You might as well take the afternoon off and work with your birds.”

  Levi turned, finally noticing me, and his whole demeanor changed. “I know y–you. Y–y–you’re pu–pu–pussy!” He was grinning at me like I was the most beautiful creature he’d ever seen. I had to admit it actually felt good. “I–I l–l–l–like pu–pu–pussy.”

  I turned to Larry. “Why y’all teach him that? That boy thinks all women are pussy.”

  Larry looked at me, unapologetic. “Aaaaaaannnnnd, what you tryin’ to say?”

  I shook my head, turning back to Levi. “I got a pussy, but that don’t make me one. And just so you know, all pussy might be good pussy, but this is not good pussy. This is great pussy.” I ran my hand down my body, hugging every curve. “This is aged to perfection, grade-A pu-pu. If Lou was here with some money, I’d show you.”

  Once he could stop laughing, Larry said, “He’s got his own money. If he really wanted some pussy, he could buy it. Lou just takes care of that shit so you bitches don’t take advantage of him.”